39-Year-Old Djokovic Defeats World No. 2 Zverev to Reach China Open Semifinals

Novak Djokovic (11th, Serbia) defeated Alexander Zverev (2nd, Germany), who won two major tennis titles this year, to advance to the men's singles semifinals of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour China Open.

On October 4, in the quarterfinals held in Beijing, China, Djokovic beat Zverev with a set score of 2 to 1 (4-6, 6-4, 6-4).

Thirty-nine-year-old Djokovic secured a victory against Zverev for the first time in 16 months, extending his undefeated streak at the China Open to 32 matches.

Having shown a clear downward trend, Djokovic is now just two wins away from claiming his first tour title of the year.

He is also aiming to lift the China Open championship trophy for the 7th time in his career.

Struggling against Zverev's power, Djokovic was broken in his opening service game and dropped the first set.

However, leading 5 to 4 in the second set, he broke his opponent's service game to level the match at 1 set all, and secured the victory by breaking Zverev's serve again at 5 to 4 in the third set.

"These are the moments why I am still playing and competing," Djokovic said. "When I feel like I am competing equally with the best players in the world, and when I play in front of 15,000 spectators, my desire to win is stimulated."

He added, "This year has been difficult for various reasons. Still, I am hanging in there and making the youngsters pay the price. I am glad I was able to overcome it."

Djokovic will compete for a spot in the finals against Daniil Medvedev (6th, Russia), who advanced after defeating Francisco Cerundolo (22nd, Argentina).

With this defeat, Zverev suffered a blow to his bid for the year-end world No. 1 ranking.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.